Can JetBlue Steal Share From American in Miami?
If JetBlue can capitalize on Spirit's demise, it might be able to return to profitability. That's an OK plan. But what if it goes bigger than that?
Dear readers,
It’s the heart of winter, it’s freezing in the Northeast, and most airlines have reported robust demand across the United States. So I am not surprised things are going well for JetBlue in Fort Lauderdale, where the high today will be about 71 degrees.
But I am impressed at how quickly JetBlue — not an airline known for its alacrity — is staking its claim to the South Florida market. Despite launching 20 new routes in roughly the last six months, including St. Maarten, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans, and adding frequency on many others (such as Atlanta, Hartford, and Cancun), JetBlue is finding consumers are paying solid fares.
“Bookings are strong right now,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call last week. “And I think what I’m especially excited about is we’ve seen a nice recovery of leisure customers, and frankly I cannot talk enough about how pleasantly surprised we’ve been with the speed of the adoption of our new capacity in Fort Lauderdale.”
JetBlue has been the sad story of the industry for the past six years as better-run airlines have plucked its customers in New York and Boston. With no real strongholds anywhere, it again struggled in 2025, posting a net loss of $602 million on total operating revenues of $9 billion.
Now JetBlue senses an opening in Fort Lauderdale — not far from American’s Miami hub — and JetBlue is throwing a lot of capacity at it. By July, JetBlue will fly 37 percent more seats and 28 percent more ASMs than one year earlier, according to Cirium data.
I know what you’re probably thinking: JetBlue’s plan in South Florida is merely a move to win share at the expense of Spirit, so JetBlue finally can be No. 1 somewhere. That’s what I wrote in October.
But maybe I was wrong?